DW Kit (need help identifying)

Thanks AJ! I really can't wait to pop some new heads on em and see what they sound like
Gonna try to get the kick to sound as boomy as possible given the 16" depth (I'm used to 18).

johnbarnesiii said:

Thanks AJ! I really can't wait to pop some new heads on em and see what they sound like
Gonna try to get the kick to sound as boomy as possible given the 16" depth (I'm used to 18).

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If you want some sweet sounds from that kick, I'd go for a powerstroke 3 batter, and no internal muffle. Pop a falam slam pad on with plastic bass drum beaters for a nice clicky thud. Tune it as low as it'll go and that will sound great. A little ring, some good focus and mic'ed, it'll cut through a charm!

...The wrap looks like the wrap on a stray 13" tom I bought a couple of years ago.

If the wrap is more like a kitchen counter top arborite/melamine than a plastic wrap, it is more than likely the real deal. Also, the stamped bass drum claws and the Gibralter style hex bass drum spur mounts, along with the hex shaped breather vents suggest as others have pointed out, these are the older keller shells. I am no dee dub historian by any means, but I did not see a date, or note stamp on the inside of the drums pictured, that also suggests that those are keller shelled dubs.

To put a value on them would be a tough call, as many dub lovers prefer the old Kellers to the newer in house shells. My personal feeling regarding the perceived sound difference has more to do with the age of the shells. When you find the kellers, they are already older, and more seasoned than the newer shells. The new shells will season and age in time. The longest that I ever owned a full DW kit was a little over five years, and within that short period of time, I did start to notice a change.

You do have a really nice kit there, and I am sure that you would not have any problem getting rid of them if you chose to do so. My advice would be to hang on to them as they will be the ones that hold their value when my kids generation turns into my generation.

Also, what parts do you need. PM me with a list as I have a tub full of odds and ends.

Barry

Thanks again boys! I'm gonna fix em up this weekend, clean up the shells & hardware, pop some new heads on em & hopefully get whatever parts needed (Barry I'll PM you about that).

Here's another pic. Also had a question: the kick drum has a mount drilled into it. Was this a common thing that DW did back then, or was it done after? And if I took it off, would it expose brown wood, or does the black wrap continue underneath?

Finally, is it easy to get a kick drum hoop in black to match the kit? The brown wood seems a little out of place in relation to the whole kit.

Cheers!

About the wrap,I read an article in MD,inside DW,and John Goode said that when they started the finish ply (wrapped kits) to make DW a little more affordable, he wanted to affect resonance as little as possible,their big pitch before that was that a wrap impeded resonance and sound.So they found a supplier that offered a wrap that was tough ,but very thin,and butt joined it,he said that the wrap shrunk,or moved,leaving exposed wood like what you have,they later went to overlapping to alleviate this problem.I am not sure how long they butt joined the seam,but it may help you in dating the kit.As popular as Black kits have been over the years I would think eventually you could scare up a 16 " or 18 " fairly easily.But I think you may end up liking the 14 depth if you give it a chance.

Hollycow, they sold a performer and sent you a Collector?

That's like buying a Ford and having a Porche delivered.

Nice kit.

I own the matching snare to that kit. It's actually my main snare.

Man, I would not sweat the bass drum being 16 inches deep instead of 18. If you get anything less than a total in your chest thump from that bass drum you could probably sell them for what a new performance series cost.

I would just play em', love em' and be happy.

Is there any way to figure out the exact year of this kit?

I asked DW but they said their system doesn't go that far back. I'm interested in getting more specific details about the shell construction and any details I can get.Thanks.

johnbarnesiii said:

Is there any way to figure out the exact year of this kit?

I asked DW but they said their system doesn't go that far back. I'm interested in getting more specific details about the shell construction and any details I can get.Thanks.

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Shell construction is an easy one. Keller all maple shells. It seems to be pretty early, did DW say how far back the system goes? Then at least you would know it would be pre whatever year....

I have a DW snare stamped 1998 that's a Keller shell, but I think we all know it's a fair bit older than that, due to the wrapping....

You could narrow it down with when they started to use that style bass drum mount.
I'm going to say '90-95-ish

The first kits were 6ply w/6ply rings, You could count the plies. They also started doing 5 ply with 3ply rings in the 90's.

That bass drum sliding mount was originally a Corder design, and on their drums.
Bermuda was playing Corder, he may have had that mount on a kit.
DW started using that mount after Corder either sold them the design, or went out of business.

Dude, you won! That is a smoking deal! The Keller DWs are incredible drums and I'd say they are definitely over a grand USD for what you have there. Gotta love Guitar Satan F-ups!

They are worth over a thousand.

They are Very early Keller.

The gromits don't look right.

(wood matures, they will sound lovely)

Nah, those are the original grommets. That's what they were using back then.
For some reason these look different to me than newer DW's.
More solid. Probably because it's a solid color, & a simple looking kit (in the good way).

Maybe it because of the sound...the original Keller shells sounded better to me than their own made Collectors shell--regardless of wood age, which will have a difference (almost 20 years later)...

I'm kinda thinking it's a '92-'93.

Whatever year it is, it's a score IMO!

I think the most important question is.........how do they sound?.Keep them as original as you can,someday they will be collectable.The contrast of the natural wood hoop and the black finish looks outstanding.There must be a DW forum on the internet,and I'm sure they could help with dating your drums.

Steve B